Are Skin Lightening Products Safe?

Skin lightening products have become extremely popular as of late. A lot of people have become interested in skin lightening products for a variety of reasons. For one, skin lightening products can help skin become more even toned. In this article, we will be discussing why you would want to use skin lightening products, how they work, and whether or not they are safe to use.

Why Use Skin Lightening Products?

A lot of people decide to use skin lightening products simply because they can help even out the skin tone. A majority of people that suffer from skin conditions end up with blotchy or uneven skin. Therefore, they use lightening products to either reduce or even eliminate the appearance of scars.

This is one of the biggest reasons to use skin lightening products. An increasing number of people are using skin lightening products in order to lighten their traditionally dark skin, as well. They have been popular in Japan and in Eastern countries for decades now.

This is because lighter skin is revered in these places. They still remain very popular in many places in Asia. The trend is rather new in the United States where lightening creams have become a lot more popular since 2011. In the U.S, they are mainly used in order to create a brighter appearance of the skin in order to create a much more youthful look.

How Do They Work?

Skin lightening products work by ultimately blocking the production of melanin in the skin. Melanin is what makes the skin darker. Therefore, darker people have a much higher concentration of melanin in the skin than those that are more fair skinned. There are a bunch of different chemicals that effectively prevent and reduce melanin production. However, the safety of these products and chemicals is up for debate.

What To Look For In A Whitening Cream?

If you are looking for an effective whitening cream, you need to look for the main ingredient which should be hydroquinone. This is literally the only FDA approved ingredient that can be used for skin lightening in the United States.

It effectively limits melanin production which makes it an effective lightening product. Not much research has been done in order to figure out how safe it is to use over the long term.

The United States allows concentrations to not exceed 2 percent of this ingredient. You can actually find stronger products on the market, but you will not be able to purchase them over the counter.

You will need to get a Doctor’s prescription if you want to get anything stronger than 2 percent. Some of the different Doctor’s prescribed prescription creams can combine hydroquinone with tretinoin which contains high doses of vitamin A to reduce the appearance of melasma.

Melasma is a darkening skin condition that can be a direct result of pregnancy and/or over exposure to direct sunlight. Asia became the trendsetters in terms of skin lightening. They started the trend of marketing these creams as being healthy.

What You Will Want To Avoid In A Skin Lightening Cream?

You will never want to purchase a lightening cream that contains any traces of mercury in it. This is an ingredient that is banned in the United States. However, it can still be found in a lot of products that are outside of the United States. It can also be found in creams that are counterfeit. While this is an effective ingredient at inhibiting melanin production, it is also extremely poisonous and dangerous to use because it can directly cause mercury poisoning.

What To Look For In The Best Creams?

There is plenty that you are going to want to look for if you want to find the best creams on the market. Below, we will talk about some of the main things to look for in the top quality products available on the market.

1. Ingredients

As noted previously, you want to find the highest quality products with the best ingredients. You should look for products that have effective ingredients.

2. Brand

The next thing that you are going to want to do is look for a good quality brand. It is important to find a product that was produced by a good quality brand in order to avoid getting poor quality products. Always look for brands that have a good reputation in the entire industry. This will save you from purchasing non reputable products.

3. Reviews

You should also take a look at the products reviews. It is essential to find a product that has a good reputation within the marketplace. Ideally, you are going to want to find products that have a 4 or 5 star rating. This will ensure that you get the best quality products available on the market.